Chapter 649: Japanese Island Thieves
The little emperor finally came to his senses and stopped immediately.
The deputy envoy reported to him: The New Song Dynasty still has some concessions. The Han River will be used as the boundary temporarily, and our Kaifeng can be retained.
The young emperor immediately became furious and roared in refusal. He would rather die with honor than live in disgrace. He wanted to fight against the Shenwei Army of the New Song Dynasty and drive them out of the peninsula just like he did to the Mongolian army.
Wang Dian knew that his father felt dizzy due to his high blood pressure, so he asked his father to have a good rest and left, making the excuse of being tired from the journey.
The little emperor yelled again, "Don't go, there are important things to discuss." The West Coast has intensive military reports showing that the Japanese island country across the sea has repeatedly provoked us, arrested our fishermen, robbed our fishing boats, and sent navy soldiers disguised as thieves to land and rob along the coast. We must find a way to deal with it.
Wang Dian was very tired, so he told him that all the civil and military officials in the court were there, and the king should mobilize the navy to deal with the situation and directly wipe them out. Did he have any better ideas?
The young emperor said that the gentlemen had already discussed it and thought that they should ask the navy of the New Song Dynasty for help. The Japanese island country has large ships and a large number of people. It would be difficult to win a war with the Japanese island country relying on our limited resources, and we cannot afford the consumption.
Wang Dian said he couldn't do it. The New Song Kingdom made it clear that we treat each other equally. They will no longer send volunteers to fight for any country as they did before to fight against the Mongolian army.
The little emperor was stunned and helplessly sat down on the small dragon chair in a daze.
This guy has only come to his senses now, and finally realized that the new Song Dynasty has completely changed. It is no longer the stupid court of the past. It is absolutely impossible to go back to the old path.
This guy once again convened civil and military officials to discuss matters. The first order was to immediately withdraw all troops to the Han River line to deploy defenses and not to engage in battle with the Shenwei Army.
His primary task now was to stabilize the basic situation. Years of war between Goryeo and the grassland empire had long since destroyed the local governments and thieves were rampant everywhere. He withdrew the army and officials just in time to deal with these monsters.
The second is to send envoys to the island country of Wa to reason with them and demand that they stop their endless harassment.
The third is to reorganize the navy to safeguard coastal defense and urge the construction of new ships for war preparation.
The young emperor was, after all, an experienced manipulator of political power. After some quick adjustments, the small war machine of Goryeo started to squeak as if it had not been lubricated enough.
On the Lusong Island in the southeast of the South China Sea, Zheng Qilang, who proclaimed himself the governor of Lusong of the New Song Kingdom, originally thought that Shi Lang had been eaten by the fish, but unexpectedly saw this guy leading the New Song Kingdom's escort ships to the shore and obtained three large ships of military equipment and a large amount of gunpowder.
This guy was extremely happy and kept praising Shi Lang as a genius with both wisdom and courage.
Watching the New Song Kingdom's escort fleet leave, Shi Lang stood alone beside him, only to remember that there were still two loyal lackeys who were missing.
He asked Shi Lang, there were three of them when they went out, where did the other two go?
Shi Lang said with a smile that the two brothers couldn't walk anymore after seeing the prosperous city of Jilong, the dazzling array of New Song goods and the pretty girls in the brothels, and they didn't want to come back. Fortunately, the pacification envoy of Liuqiu Road was the former king, who knew us. He interceded with the pacification envoy and found jobs for the two brothers, and they were all eating and drinking well there.
Zheng Qilang looked at Shi Lang doubtfully, still unable to confirm the truth. But it was an indisputable fact that Shi Lang had brought a large amount of military supplies and rare medicines for the trip to Song Island. He did not think about the two unfortunate guys who had become water ghosts, and invited the generals around him to have a good meal together before leading the army to the expedition.
This time, the Song army not only received strong supplies, but also three new warships for transporting military supplies. All of them were equipped with new large-scale catapults and were highly maneuverable fast ships. They amazed the Nanyang coalition forces as soon as they appeared.
The Song army was seen firing cannons from afar, continuously launching cannonballs, and three large ships were firing thunder bombs, which caused their warships to explode.
The fleets composed of the navies of these small countries were immediately confused and wondered whether the navy they were fighting was still the Song Dynasty navy.
As the two sides approached each other, the close combat became more violent. The Song army changed the situation of lack of arrows in the past. Not only did they rain arrows, but they also threw a large number of hand-me-down grenades onto the enemy's ships and exploded.
The firepower of the Song army surged, forcing the Nanyang coalition forces to flee in panic. After winning two consecutive battles with an overwhelming advantage, the Nanyang coalition forces no longer dared to challenge out of the port and retreated obediently into the ports deep in the major bays of the Mayi Kingdom.
After the war, Shi Lang's prestige increased greatly because of his contribution to the victory by bringing in military aid. Many people with lofty ideals went to Shi Lang for a drink and chat, and Zheng Qilang's camp showed a clear split.
This guy praised Shi Lang in front of everyone, but in his heart he was planning how to kill this potential opponent.
King Ma Yi of the southern island was shocked after being defeated successively by the Lu Song army. He received a secret report and became nervous after learning that the New Song's escort formation had docked at Lu Song Island. After two consecutive defeats, he immediately found the reason.
The commander of the navy secretly reported to him that the Song army's weapons and baggage suddenly increased greatly, and three new warships with powerful firepower appeared in the fleet. The coalition fleet could no longer fight the Song navy in close combat. They had too many arrows, so they changed their previous method of throwing stones and threw round hand-me-down mines, which made the wooden boats leak water everywhere, causing countless casualties.
Our warships can't withstand the bombing.
King Ma Yi was sensitive to the fact that the New Song Kingdom and the bandits from the Great Song Dynasty on the Song Island were closely connected, so he sat down and thought seriously.
In the past six months, they have been fighting against the Song army. Although they have won and lost against each other, they were clearly at a disadvantage in the two most recent naval battles. The coalition forces had more than half of the Song army's warships, but still failed to win. The losses of many large and small warships were not small, and they would definitely not gain any advantage if they continued fighting.
Moreover, the Nanyang Allied Forces lived and ate in his Mayi Kingdom, and all expenses were provided by him. Even the masculine needs of the navy soldiers had to be satisfied by him selecting beautiful women in the country, which made the people in the capital and coastal areas complain and hide from place to place with their wives, daughters and families.
In addition, the food, clothing and other expenses of tens of thousands of troops emptied the national treasury, making it difficult to sustain.
This guy sent notes to various countries requesting the supply of food and fodder. The first one to stand up and oppose it was the King of Zhenla. Not only did he not give it, but he also demanded the appearance fee of the Zhenla navy and compensation for war damages.
Mad, what is this called?
They didn't even recognize him as the leader.
This guy is in a dilemma.
War is all about logistics, and it would be difficult for Mayi alone to sustain the war. Once the coalition navy, especially the Zhenla navy, stayed in Mayi and invited a wolf into the house, his Mayi country would be in danger.
This guy couldn't believe it and complained in his heart why there was still no news from the secret envoy who was sent to New Song.
This guy was panicked and anxious, so he immediately arranged a second delegation to go to New Song, instructing the envoy to obtain the support of the superior country at all costs and ask the Celestial Empire to comply.
In Chengdu, Zhao Yulin and Zhao Feiyan were receiving his brother-in-law, Duan Xiaolin, the King of Zhennan of Dali Kingdom, and his sister Zhao Sihan.
The Prince of Zhennan finally suppressed the rebellion in Dali and dealt with the bandit rebels who were connected with Pagan. Then he was sent to the New Song Dynasty by his father to seek help.
During the difficult process of suppressing the rebellion, Duan Xiaolin realized the corruption and weakness of the Dali court, and he completely woke up and decided to follow Zhao Yulin's New Song Dynasty.
On the one hand, he constantly adjusted the middle and lower-level officers in the process of suppressing the rebellion, letting those young soldiers who were in line with him take charge of the imperial guards. On the other hand, he constantly recommended fair and upright officials to his father for promotion and reuse, and initially established his own sphere of influence.
He told Zhao Yulin that after returning, he would persuade his father to abolish the small court and actively integrate into the new Song Dynasty to become a family.
Zhao Yulin smiled and said: That is naturally a great thing, but I am afraid that his idea will not pass in Dali, first of all, he will have to deal with his father.
The Dali Kingdom has been passed down for more than a hundred years. Although they are subject to the Central Plains court, they are far away from the emperor and live in a corner of the country. They have their own system and are an independent country. There are many old and young people in the small court. Can they change their minds?
Duan Xiaolin was stunned and asked him what to do?
He said: Dali’s affairs still depend on the people of Dali themselves.
Zhao Feiyan fully agreed and felt that this matter should indeed be resolved . She said with a smile that the weather in the new Song Dynasty was good this year, and the loan and grain proposed by Xiao Linzi were not a problem. Let's not talk about state affairs, just eat and drink. Come on, try the new way of eating chili invented by our Guangyuan.
Then he picked up two large chopsticks of spicy chicken nuggets for Zhao Sihan and Duan Xiaolin.
The next day, Duan Xiaolin and Zhao Sihan went to Huaxi Village to visit their eldest son Duan Yu, only to find out that their son and Wu Jing and others had gone to Dujiangyan to work on street construction.
Si Niang was very happy to see her daughter and son-in-law come back. She told them joyfully that Duan Yu had made great progress. San Ge'er did not treat Duan Yu as an outsider. This time in Dujiangyan, he was solely responsible for the construction task of the scenic spot project and was very busy.
Duan Xiaolin saw the Chengwenqiong official road under construction, heard that large-scale water conservancy projects such as Dujiangyan, Lingqu and Zhengguoqu were all being renovated, and there was also a railway extending to Dali. Each of them was a huge project like a gold-devouring behemoth, and he lamented the strong financial strength of the New Song Dynasty.
Si Niang told them both: The people of the New Song Dynasty are not like their Dali Kingdom, which has small countries within it. The officials are all trying hard to make money and put it in their own pockets, hollowing out the entire country.
The new Song Dynasty established a supply and marketing cooperative, a construction company, and a road department to specialize in the construction of large projects such as roads and bridges. All of these were done directly by the imperial court, and there was no such thing as profit or making money.
The Censorate and the Ministry of Personnel of the New Song Dynasty investigated corruption based on facts rather than individuals, and arrested whoever they saw. Zhang Qi, the most capable guard of the third brother, had made great contributions to the Shenwei Army, but after committing a crime, he was still demoted to a commoner and forced to work as a groom for his woman. It was said that the court showed him special favor.
When it comes to business, our Zhao family takes the lead and hands over all successful businesses to the court. Profitable businesses must be shared with the court. All businessmen will follow suit, and the treasury will naturally have money to spend.
